Batman V Superman

Sequels. Prequels. Reboots! It’s that time of year when Hollywood spends millions to regurgitate old stories and characters with updated plots, directors, and actors in rubber costumes while branding it as “new.” This season, the stakes are high as successful stories are in line to battle for the most profitable movie of the summer! The first in line, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, flew into the boxing ring on March 25 hoping to set the bar high.

In light of the theme, here are the losers and winners.

LosersThe plot: DC Comics wants to catch up to speed and compete with Marvel’s Avengers storyline. Rather than lag behind with origin-style movies and build up, they intertwined too many storylines into one movie – causing confusion. Was this a Superman sequel or the start of both a new Batman and Wonder Woman movie? Time was wasted on retelling stories we know: focus on what we don’t.

Lex Luthor: Memorable movies are as good as their villains. The writers fell flat developing Superman’s arch-rival. Eisenberg played Snyder’s millennial-appealing version of Luthor well, but was robbed of proper development on screen.

CGI: Some effects were cheesy.

WinnersNa nanana . . . BATMAN! Batman is my favorite superhero. So, I was skeptical of Ben Affleck acting as the Dark Crusader. Witnessing his performance, I’m a 100% believer in Benny wearing the bat suit. He’s a badass Batman who will kill bad guys, and he’s a darker and buffer Bruce Wayne. Plus, the bat cave is back!

DC Universe. The audience can see a world where Gotham, Metropolis, and multiple DC superheroes exist.

Wonder Woman. Sex-appeal aside, Gadot is one element that did “justice.” Finally on screen, her introduction and portrayal was done in way where I really want to see more. Gadot has potential to make the most successful super heroine films.

Verdict: 5 out of 10
Although the movie is deserving criticism, I didn’t leave the theater feeling totally cheated. There were exciting surprises that made me overlook the mishaps and feel optimistic that future films will correct this film’s ills. Go watch with low expectations because it isn’t a movie that you can miss if you are looking to follow the DC universe expand as newer stories are told, because I doubt we’ll see a reboot . . . at least for now.